I loved my gym in Queens, New York, and the thought of training anywhere else is a little disheartening. Also, the boxing game done changed in Philly since I last lived here. Anyone know what the 'best' gym is around here or what trainer I should go with? I can't believe Bouie Fischer passed on just before I made my move, I had every intention of working out with him, at least a few times..

seopower

08-13-2011, 08:25 AM

i really like your signatures, it is lovely

Spiegelo

08-13-2011, 05:09 PM

i really like your signatures, it is lovely

Thanks, my main man Natas made it for me. He asked what clips I wanted in there, and I think I had to send him a couple of the fights and he did it all.

Spiegelo

08-13-2011, 05:11 PM

I hear Joe Hands in S Philly is the place to go, any input?

Spiegelo

08-14-2011, 05:07 PM

Bumpies (:

Spiegelo

08-19-2011, 03:55 PM

Bumpiedeedoodah *****s!

Danny Gunz

08-23-2011, 07:46 PM

I loved my gym in Queens, New York, and the thought of training anywhere else is a little disheartening. Also, the boxing game done changed in Philly since I last lived here. Anyone know what the 'best' gym is around here or what trainer I should go with? I can't believe Bouie Fischer passed on just before I made my move, I had every intention of working out with him, at least a few times..

My bad bro just saw this havent been in the T&N forum in a little while.

Theres Front st. gym which I have heard great things about the trainers there, its in a really bad neighborhood though.

Joe Hands Gym, Martin Luther King Gym, The fight factory, and 12th street gym.... Thoughs are the ones I know off the top of my head I'm sure there are plenty more around.

I used to go to Joe Hands which was a good gym they taught me alot, it was when I was young though lik 12-14.

I got Upper Darby Boxing Club which is right outside of Philly by 69th st. I joined there after moving.

BostonGuy

08-23-2011, 09:33 PM

How many gyms you guys got in Philly? In Boston I think there may be 3 or 4 at best...

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 02:47 AM

My bad bro just saw this havent been in the T&N forum in a little while.

Theres Front st. gym which I have heard great things about the trainers there, its in a really bad neighborhood though.

Joe Hands Gym, Martin Luther King Gym, The fight factory, and 12th street gym.... Thoughs are the ones I know off the top of my head I'm sure there are plenty more around.

I used to go to Joe Hands which was a good gym they taught me alot, it was when I was young though lik 12-14.

I got Upper Darby Boxing Club which is right outside of Philly by 69th st. I joined there after moving.

THANK YOU! Finally a response! I love the sig by the way, can't wait for the new season in September! So do you always pay per session with each trainer these days? In NY I'd just pay monthly for the 3x per week option and really show up as often as I wanted. If my trainer had the time, he'd hold pads, otherwise I'd hit bags, do padwork w someone else, spar, work out, whatever. Do you know any good trainers and which gyms are best out of those? I had a lot of friends that trained out of Front st gym, but this was like 5 years ago.. Also I heard Bernard trained out of Upper Darby and that Nazim trains out there. I'd be down with that in a heartbeat. I guess the L would take me out that way?

Danny Gunz

08-24-2011, 02:26 PM

THANK YOU! Finally a response! I love the sig by the way, can't wait for the new season in September! So do you always pay per session with each trainer these days? In NY I'd just pay monthly for the 3x per week option and really show up as often as I wanted. If my trainer had the time, he'd hold pads, otherwise I'd hit bags, do padwork w someone else, spar, work out, whatever. Do you know any good trainers and which gyms are best out of those? I had a lot of friends that trained out of Front st gym, but this was like 5 years ago.. Also I heard Bernard trained out of Upper Darby and that Nazim trains out there. I'd be down with that in a heartbeat. I guess the L would take me out that way?

The trainers at UD Boxing club are great. The guy that runs it is Andy Carr which is one of the coolest dudes youd ever meet. And the main boxing trainer is Chip Hart who is a great trainer as well. Bernard and Nazim are there every once in a while but not on a regular basis. And yeah you just take the L westbound to 69th st.

For payment you just pay a registration for say 12 months and all the classes and training is included.

For the other gyms I dont know a whole lot about. I have heard really good things about Front st. and MLK. And I know Fight Factory is a really good gym but it is mainly MMA I dont know how serious they are for boxing.

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 03:02 PM

The trainers at UD Boxing club are great. The guy that runs it is Andy Carr which is one of the coolest dudes youd ever meet. And the main boxing trainer is Chip Hart who is a great trainer as well. Bernard and Nazim are there every once in a while but not on a regular basis. And yeah you just take the L westbound to 69th st.

For payment you just pay a registration for say 12 months and all the classes and training is included.

For the other gyms I dont know a whole lot about. I have heard really good things about Front st. and MLK. And I know Fight Factory is a really good gym but it is mainly MMA I dont know how serious they are for boxing.

They have classes? Like group training? You guys do 1on1 time as well? Is that it, the L to 69st? It's right there afterwards? How much are the memberships? Sorry for bombarding you w questions here but I think that might be the one I check out. You still train there?

I live in Northeast Phila and I boxed out of the Harrowgate Gym in the Kensington section (back in the 80's). I have gone back and forth there over the years. It's a great old gym, it's cheap, and the guy who runs it is an awesome guy- Charlie Sgrillo. It's the gym Danny Garcia came out of, and he may still train there.

There's another gym fairly close to there, Front Street. It's above a beer distributor, and is again another excellent, older, and affordable gym.

Jack Costello Gym (my trainer when I was a kid. He passed away and this was opened to honor him)) is further north, in the Northeast. Excellent gym. I used to go there here and there....Glenwood "The real Beast" Brown used to spar with the youngins there.

I went to Joe Hand for a while in its original Fishtown location. It moved to South Phila, and is now in Northern Liberties, not to far from its original spot.

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 03:16 PM

If the new Joe hand is like the original one...it's your best bet for getting in more than a boxing workout. The old one was larger than the gyms I discussed, and far more modern.

Some awesome fighters came out of there in the 90's, like Randy Griffin, Anthony "TJ" Washington, and Rashiem Jefferson. Prince Badi Ajamu and Mike "No Joke" Stewart used to come in there a lot to spar. They had a seriously great trainer there named Howard "Moses" Mosley.

Danny Gunz

08-24-2011, 03:21 PM

They have classes? Like group training? You guys do 1on1 time as well? Is that it, the L to 69st? It's right there afterwards? How much are the memberships? Sorry for bombarding you w questions here but I think that might be the one I check out. You still train there?

Yeah they have classes and stuff for groups you can also find trainer for 1on1 sessions. I havent been there for about a year and a half so I'm not sure what the prices are exactly but the website is udgrappling.com they should have phone numbers or emails so you can contact the owner or trainers.

Well its close to the 69th st terminal it is a bit of a walk from the station to the gym about a half mile or so. What you would do is after getting to the terminal just walk up w. chester pike and its up there. It might be easier to take a bus from the terminal.

And yeah they have all the weightlifting equipment to. They definetly have benches, squat racks, free weights, kettlebells and such also. When I was there they had a powerlifting program along with the boxing and MMA.

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 03:33 PM

I live in Northeast Phila and I boxed out of the Harrowgate Gym in the Kensington section (back in the 80's). I have gone back and forth there over the years. It's a great old gym, it's cheap, and the guy who runs it is an awesome guy- Charlie Sgrillo. It's the gym Danny Garcia came out of, and he may still train there.

There's another gym fairly close to there, Front Street. It's above a beer distributor, and is again another excellent, older, and affordable gym.

Jack Costello Gym (my trainer when I was a kid. He passed away and this was opened to honor him)) is further north, in the Northeast. Excellent gym. I used to go there here and there....Glenwood "The real Beast" Brown used to spar with the youngins there.

I went to Joe Hand for a while in its original Fishtown location. It moved to South Phila, and is now in Northern Liberties, not to far from its original spot.
I think I went to the Costello gym briefly. Is it off Torresdale? If so, I had a pretty bad experience. I came in and they were super helpful in signing me up (ridiculously cheap), and after I paid dues they completely changed their attitude towards me. I guess they saw me as a fat white boy that wasn't going to be dedicated, and they gave me two diff sized gloves and told me to hit the bags as hard as I could and do 2,000 situps while tending to the other boxers. I nearly broke my wrists and when I asked for help, I was told 'there's no wrong way to hit a bag' which is total bullsh*t! It still gets me worked up thinking about that experience, but I don't remember the name of the gym, or more importantly the ''trainer'' that instructed me to do so. I think he was a puertorican dude with a little bit of a lisp, but this was 10 odd years ago, so hard to remember for sure. In NY there's a lot of crap gyms with great reputations, for instance I know a lot of people that got used up at Gleason's and weren't smart enough to jump ship and look for a new trainer. I'm just trying to avoid the hassle of paying memberships at 30 diff gyms to find my way to the trainer that takes me to the PA Gloves. I'm going to do my research on your boy moses and see if he's still around.

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 03:40 PM

Spieg....

It is off of Torresdale, upstairs of the red building. I went in '99, and I was there more to train my cousin than for myslef. The guys who actually run it are nice, but I did witness some of what you spoke of. They had some established kids, and that's who they focused on.

I can't speakly highly enough of Harrowgate, however. Even with "stars" like Danny garcia and Joe Dawejko there, the new guys were attended to. Charlie Sgrillo is too arthritic to do the mitts, but he will work with you....and call you a "jitbag" if you don't listen. He'd even call an 8 year old that with mommy sitting a few feet away.

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 03:41 PM

I appreciate the both of you guys helping me out. Maybe I'll see you around the gyms someday.

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 03:44 PM

Spieg....

It is off of Torresdale, upstairs of the red building. I went in '99, and I was there more to train my cousin than for myslef. The guys who actually run it are nice, but I did witness some of what you spoke of. They had some established kids, and that's who they focused on.

I can't speakly highly enough of Harrowgate, however. Even with "stars" like Danny garcia and Joe Dawejko there, the new guys were attended to. Charlie Sgrillo is too arthritic to do the mitts, but he will work with you....and call you a "jitbag" if you don't listen. He'd even call an 8 year old that with mommy sitting a few feet away.

Yeah that's most definitely the one. I'm sure if I went now it'd be a different story, but just based on principle I'm going to avoid that one. Harrowgate may be much closer to me than Joe Hands, I think I'll check that one out. I appreciate all the info, you're like an encyclopedia on philly trainers.

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 03:49 PM

Yeah that's most definitely the one. I'm sure if I went now it'd be a different story, but just based on principle I'm going to avoid that one. Harrowgate may be much closer to me than Joe Hands, I think I'll check that one out. I appreciate all the info, you're like an encyclopedia on philly trainers.

Harrowgate is on Venango, in between Kensignton and Frankford. If you take public trans, you can take the Market-Frankford El to Tioga station, and walk a few blocks. It can be a little dicey there, if that concerns you.

Harrowgate's drawback is the hours. Usually opens at 4 (sometimes later), and stays open to around 7:30. The last time I was there, which was early '08, they weren't open on weeknds. Perhaps the hours have changed over the years. Definitely worth a look.

Welcome back to Philadelphia, bro!

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 03:52 PM

Harrowgate is on Venango, in between Kensignton and Frankford. If you take public trans, you can take the Market-Frankford El to Tioga station, and walk a few blocks. It can be a little dicey there, if that concerns you.

Harrowgate's drawback is the hours. Usually opens at 4 (sometimes later), and stays open to around 7:30. The last time I was there, which was early '08, they weren't open on weeknds. Perhaps the hours have changed over the years. Definitely worth a look.

Welcome back to Philadelphia, bro!
Ouch you're right those hours are rough! And I live right next to bridge and pratt so anything off the L is lovely, as long as I don't drive there I'm not worried about dicey neighborhoods. I'll stop by and check out the hours, worst comes to worst I'll check out UD and Joe Hands. And thank you it feels good to be back to the city of brotherly love.. that being said the whole tremor thing yesterday scared the crap out of me, and apparently we getting hit with a class 2 hurricane on Sunday or something? I thought Philly didn't see bad weather or earthquakes, what the crap is going on these days?

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 03:56 PM

Ouch you're right those hours are rough! And I live right next to bridge and pratt so anything off the L is lovely, as long as I don't drive there I'm not worried about dicey neighborhoods. I'll stop by and check out the hours, worst comes to worst I'll check out UD and Joe Hands. And thank you it feels good to be back to the city of brotherly love.. that being said the whole tremor thing yesterday scared the crap out of me.

I'll make one more suggestion for you....

Go the Grey Lodge on Frankford (between Harbison and Robbins) if you like really good beer.

Not boxing-related, but stll VERY IMPORTANT!

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 03:58 PM

Spieg...

2011 has been bizarre. Weather everywhere is out of whack.

I do think this Sunday's gonna be a washout, as the past two have been.

Danny Gunz

08-24-2011, 04:02 PM

Harrowgate is on Venango, in between Kensignton and Frankford. If you take public trans, you can take the Market-Frankford El to Tioga station, and walk a few blocks. It can be a little dicey there, if that concerns you.

Harrowgate's drawback is the hours. Usually opens at 4 (sometimes later), and stays open to around 7:30. The last time I was there, which was early '08, they weren't open on weeknds. Perhaps the hours have changed over the years. Definitely worth a look.

Welcome back to Philadelphia, bro!

When I used to go to Joe Hands there was a trainer that I think was from Harrowgate I cant remember his name but he was at the gym for the day and helped me out a great deal, he was a really nice guy I wish I could remember who he was.

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 04:06 PM

I'll make one more suggestion for you....

Go the Grey Lodge on Frankford (between Harbison and Robbins) if you like really good beer.

Not boxing-related, but stll VERY IMPORTANT!

Hahah I pass by there all the time. Do they have beers I wouldn't normally find at other bars, or is it that what they have on tap tastes better than usual (perhaps they're the only bar in philly that cleans it)?

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 04:07 PM

When I used to go to Joe Hands there was a trainer that I think was from Harrowgate I cant remember his name but he was at the gym for the day and helped me out a great deal, he was a really nice guy I wish I could remember who he was.

Do you remember what he looked/sounded like so I can maybe pick him out of a crowd when I go?

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 04:09 PM

Hahah I pass by there all the time. Do they have beers I wouldn't normally find at other bars, or is it that what they have on tap tastes better than usual (perhaps they're the only bar in philly that cleans it)?

They have beers you won't find at most other bars (especially in the Northeast). Usually have about 11 different ones a week, written up on a chalkboard. Really good bar food, too.

To me, they blow away the original Chickie's and pete's, which is right behind them- half a block down.

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 04:10 PM

When I used to go to Joe Hands there was a trainer that I think was from Harrowgate I cant remember his name but he was at the gym for the day and helped me out a great deal, he was a really nice guy I wish I could remember who he was.

When were you there, at Joe Hand?

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 04:13 PM

They have beers you won't find at most other bars (especially in the Northeast). Usually have about 11 different ones a week, written up on a chalkboard. Really good bar food, too.

To me, they blow away the original Chickie's and pete's, which is right behind them- half a block down.

Yeah I live off Devaraux and Frankford, so these places are all right by me. I'm throwing my boy a bachelor party, and me and the other groomsmen were going to meet up somewhere to discuss what we doing for him. I think I'll suggest there now. Thanks for the tip.

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 04:18 PM

Yeah I live off Devaraux and Frankford, so these places are all right by me. I'm throwing my boy a bachelor party, and me and the other groomsmen were going to meet up somewhere to discuss what we doing for him. I think I'll suggest there now. Thanks for the tip.

I live in Frankford (an old section of it, Northwood). But my family is close to you, and my girlfriend lives further up off of Frankford, between Cottman and Rhawn.

Grey Lodge will be a good place to start, for beer and food, the bachelor party.

You guys heading to Daydreams after that?

Spiegelo

08-24-2011, 04:20 PM

I live in Frankford (an old section of it, Northwood). But my family is close to you, and my girlfriend lives further up off of Frankford, between Cottman and Rhawn.

Grey Lodge will be a good place to start, for beer and food, the bachelor party.

You guys heading to Daydreams after that?

I have no idea. This came at a time where I don't have a lot of money, so I'm thinking whatever is the cheapest way to throw a party for the dude and somehow get him laid by the end of it (which is really all he cares about). I honestly don't think he'd care if we went bowling all day and then somehow got him laid from there.

jabsRstiff

08-24-2011, 04:27 PM

I have no idea. This came at a time where I don't have a lot of money, so I'm thinking whatever is the cheapest way to throw a party for the dude and somehow get him laid by the end of it (which is really all he cares about). I honestly don't think he'd care if we went bowling all day and then somehow got him laid from there.

If you can get him a quality lay after bowling....he needs to realize he has the best damn friends in the world!